Hi. We are a design/style LA based company specializing in mixing eclectic styles on moderate budgets. Also we have a strange amount of fun blogging about all our design and style adventures. Right now I’m happy to say that I’m Target’s home spokesperson, bringing accessible/stylish design to the masses.

A small little unit that brings a big peace of mind...

Home Security with Blink

I used to be fearless. I lived with a strange man I found on CL my freshman year of college (not advisable), I lived by myself in East Harlem when I was 23 and have always said yes to anything that felt slightly risky if it sounded fun. I was invincible and fearless, which has led to my success (uh, DesignStar?).

Cut to 3 years ago, shortly after Charlie was born, I called 911 on the FedEx guy. To be fair a knock on the door at 9:45 at night is strange, Brian was out of town and when I yelled ‘Who’s there?’ I was met with loud silence. I became physically overwhelmed with fear, my imagination quick to run the video of worst case scenario in my brain. I was unsure whether to put my infant in his crib or to hold him as I defended us. Maybe I should run to the kitchen to grab a knife or better yet run out the back patio, up the hill to the street above. Instead I did the more logical choice which was call the police. As I shakily dialed 911 I thought ‘Welp. I know this is nuts, but I pay my taxes …’.

‘What’s the emergency?’ they asked.

I don’t remember what I said, but this is what I thought.

MY LATEST VIDEOS

“Well, I’m a new mom and I have just realized for the first time how my life could be absolutely ruined if something happened to my little baby. I understand and fear my mortality wildly more than I thought possible and turns out it’s as if I’m just realizing that I’m not invincible. Despite my previous judgements on parents I know that all I truly care about is my family, and keeping them alive and safe is my #1 priority and I will do ANYTHING to ensure that. Because of my absolutely indescribable love for my baby, “fear” now runs some aspects of my life that it never touched before. It overruns my common sense, it makes me act illogically and you know what, I’m ok with that.”

“So obviously when someone knocks on my door, I now call you, 911.”

I opened the door, phone up to ear, to find a small package from Amazon. I informed them of the mis-identification of the “criminal”, apologized for the inconvenience and breathed a massive sigh of relief … then burst into laughter (while still shaking). This was only 2 weeks after Brian called the fire department because our new carbon monoxide monitor was unknowingly out of batteries and beeping erratically. All 8 firemen were inside as I cradled Charlie on the front patio – shielding his innocent mouth from the invisible (and non-existent) silent killer. To be fair I thought that scenario was ridiculous but who was I to talk…. So yah. Home security is a thing to me. It NEVER was before, and ask Brian and all my friends – it really is now.

But first – I’m not someone who wants to promote a product based on fear, but when decided to sponsor this blog post and work together on a (UPDATE: Giveaway is now closed) I was into it, knowing that many of you might be, too.

Let me be totally clear: I’m a public figure with a large following therefore we have a high-end alarm system with video cameras and alarms on all doors and windows. The alarm company even calls the police immediately even if a glass window from inside the house has broken while it’s activated. It’s expensive, and probably unnecessary but due to one creepy comment about my kids on the blog, this is what we are choosing to spend some money on right now. Insecurity and fear sure can be expensive …

But for most people an alarm of that extent isn’t necessary nor affordable. You might have a simple alarm system on your front and back doors, but maybe a camera for monitoring would bring another level of confidence or complement your already existing system to bring you the coverage and security you need – enter .

So what makes Blink different from the rest of the security and video monitoring options out there? Well to start, unlike traditional security or video monitoring systems there are no contracts, no hard wires, and no technician needed. Blink is ready to go out of the box and the system can be added to as needed with as many additional cameras as you want. The starts at $99 which includes the sync module and one camera, but you can expand on that as much as you want and add up to 10 cameras to fit your needs. So not only is it easy to install but it is a system that doesn’t set you back a small fortune like a lot of other video monitoring systems out there.

The system is a simple and easy DIY setup, which you know I can stand behind. Take it out of the box, put two batteries in the back of the unit (which last for 2 years!), scan the camera into the system with your phone, position it where you want (inside or ) and you are good to go. Unlike other systems which require wiring, a technician and a tech savvy brain this one is about as “plug and play” as you can get.

See that happy little camera up there on my living room shelves (pre-halloween decorations of course), that has NO wiring or bulky interface? That is .

Once you have your camera set into position it works through an app on your phone so you have access to a live view from any of the cameras. You can also manage the settings directly in the app which allow you to set alerts for movement, or automatically record any time there is movement in the room. Basically when motion is detected, Blink will record the activity it sees and saves it as a shareable video file that you can access at any point directly from your phone.

And while we may not feel the need to constantly monitor the system through the live feed knowing that it does it automatically by recording the movement it sees could put you at ease.

Which brings me to the next reason that I love this system. Due to the fact that there are no hard wires it can be positioned anywhere both inside and out of the home. To show you how it works we placed one of their up on one of our bookshelves which gives a full view of the living room.

And while spying on people is not my thing, keeping an eye on things is and I know that many of you run the gamut from no monitoring at all to hidden cameras. It’s a great option for those of you who want a little more knowledge, without paying a lot of money. It would have been GREAT during the renovation of the house to see the progress instead of asking the contractor all the time. It’s not an alarm system, but does monitor and keep you informed.

Because the system is totally wire-free it also makes it a great option for renters or those not looking for a hard installation as it can be easily setup and then brought along if you ever move.

For those looking for a view of your outdoor areas or the perimeter of your property they have an as well which is completely water and element proof. So whether you have a dog that hangs out in the yard that you want to watch over while you are away at work, packages that are delivered throughout the day, or you just want to see a view of who is at your front door before you have to greet them in your robe, then this setup can work for you.

To show you how easy it is to install we went ahead and did it on my front door.

The comes with a small mount that easily installs with just one screw and a screwdriver and then the camera snaps into place.

From a design standpoint it’s nice that the units are simple, discreet, and don’t look like a massive security system that you have installed at your house making it look like a fortress.

Once all hooked up, here is what the app interface looks like:

It’s also great for offices – if you are a small to medium sized office you might want a level of monitoring your staff in the day and at night. I’m a fairly trusting person and actively try to stay that way, (which admittedly is tricky the older I get and the more vulnerable I feel) but the world is getting more and more complicated and insecurities do make us wish for more control and knowledge. I never want to be someone who promotes the culture of fear, to say that you need something in order to be safe. But if you are one of those people, who wants to spend less money, have less commitment and less hassle but would feel more secure with extra monitoring in your life, then I highly recommend this product.

*** UPDATE: Giveaway is now closed.

The system is simple and discreet, yet it brings a great sense of security to wherever you use it. Blink has also been kind enough to giveaway an entire system which includes a and a to one lucky reader. Just click through to enter and be sure to leave a comment below on how you would use the system in your own home or apartment. The giveaway will be open for one week and a winner will be chosen at random.

This post is sponsored by , but all the words and opinions are my own. Thanks for giving me the excuse to tell my ‘I called 911 on the FedEX guy’ story. It was something I totally forgot until last week when I was writing this post, but it truly epitomizes what being a parent can do to your common sense and how much it can trigger the mammalian instinct to protect.

I would love to hear any of your maybe less than logical stories of temporary parental (kid or pet or just general) insanity… Go for it in the comments…

Thank you so much for this post and your refreshing honesty. I’m just so sorry that someone could be so crazy/insensitive/mean to make a comment that scares you that much. That said, I don’t think you can put a price on security so good on you for taking whatever means necessary to keep your family safe. These are strange times.

Ditto!! As a single woman living alone in a first floor apartment with no block between the street and home, I recently began seriously contemplating my security. Thank you for bringing up this topic of discussion and sharing info on Blink (hadn’t heard of them before), Emily! Also, I signed up for a 6-week personal defense class and highly encourage everyone (esp us women!) to build our knowledge and skill in this area, God forbid we ever need to use it!

I have nothing against this post, and I know you meant nothing by it, but would just point out that there are legal ramifications of filming employees. Only on extremely rare circumstances should it be done covertly, and there are usually specific legal steps that should be followed first. My expertise isn’t US law but I assume there are rules around it there.
Again, absolutely know you didn’t mean it that way, but it’s phrased as a very casual comment and it should not be a casual decision.

And for amusing 911 (999 here) story, I was woken up at 1.30am by banging on the front door. I’m alone in the house and in the middle of building work so no lights working upstairs. I stand at the top of the stairs, more banging. I go downstairs and ask who’s there. No answer. I don’t know whether to turn lights on and show I’m home, or stay quiet. More banging on the front door. When I ask who’s there a voice says “police”. Which doesn’t sound promising. Has someone I love died or is this fake and I’m going to be murdered when I open the door?
I open it, with a chain on, and there is a policewoman outside asking if I’m ok. I’m half asleep and puzzled so say yes. She said my neighbours had called the police because they saw torchlight in the house and thought we were being burgled. I explain that I was using my phone to go to the loo about half an hour ago because the electrics are out upstairs!
But the really great bit is she asks me again if I’m alone and ok, but using her eyes to keep looking behind me and I realise she’s giving me a way of telling her, with my eyes, whether someone is holding me hostage. I thought that was great training! I didn’t know that happened in real life. But overall I was thankful that my neighbours were looking out for me.

I was just looking into something like this (though much more expensive!). I’d use the camera’s for my front door (outside), one at my back basement door (inside, it connects to the garage), and one to keep an eye on my puppies when I am at work (inside)! Thanks Emily!

I have live in our house for almost 7 years and we purchased it from a couple heading to assisted living. There is a man that sits on the road watching our house with binoculars every couple of months. We thought at first that he was one of their friends and reporting on the updates we did but they have passed on. I watch him watch me through our respective binoculars, then he speeds away, sometimes around the corner and watches from there. We live in a very rural place and being home alone with my kids is the same experience you describe…only it might take 911 an hour to get here. I will find out who that is, and I’m no longer scared but getting mad!

Discouraging that in this day and age you ask what her husband is doing? Ask if she needs a man to take care of her problem. Women are just as capable of calling the police as men are, and it sounds like this is what needs done in this situation.

I am trying to take some sponsored posts seriously as genuine product endorsements. What security system did you use before Blink approached you to sponsor?

We use Phoenix and have cameras that activate at the outdoor doors/ general vicinity if the alarm was tripped. A criminal may break in through a window, but we figure we can get a glimpse of them leaving through a door on their way out.

This would be perfect for my daughter, who is away at college, living in her first apartment. I used to think that once my kids were older, I wouldn’t worry so much, but the truth is, you never stop worrying about them.

I just moved to the woods last year, which for some reason is far scarier than the city (bears! foxes! owls that sound like people when they hoot!), so something like this would be awesome for the front and back doors of my home. Thanks for sharing!

I once called called a radio station to win concert tickets as a teenager. In my dialing frenzy, I skipped a number and called 911 by mistake (the radio station was 931-1108–so ingrained in my memory that I’ll never forget it). The conversation went something like this:

I’d use the outdoor camera to monitor our backyard for sure. We had a broken basement window a few months ago, and were struggling to decide if it was a person (!) or a stray rock from mowing the lawn.

I nearly called 911 a couple weeks ago because I was 100% positive I heard my front door open when I was home alone and my husband was out of town. I locked myself in the bathroom and debated whether it was better to call 911 and look like a fool when it turned out I was hallucinating, or live in the bathroom in fear for the rest of my life. In the end I was too embarrassed to call 911 and luckily it did turn out that I had just imagined it, but creeping around my house alone at night and checking every possible place a burglar/murderer could be hiding was TERRIFYING. I absolutely wish I could have just checked an app on my phone to tell me I was imagining things!

I get it. It is worth it to me to spend money in a way that alleviates my anxiety. We also had a CO scare due to a broken (but pretty new) detector. Now we have linked CO/smoke detectors on each floor with extras in the bedroom, and I sleep so much better. I’d love a security system, too, but don’t want to deal with hardwiring or using a landline.

I lived alone for years but now with babies I definitely get more worried about bumps in the night… especially in a house as opposed to a high rise apartment. Would love this system. Your comment about that creep bugs me! What is wrong with the world these days…

Thanks so much for the post. A DIY home security system is something that my partner and I have been looking at over the last few months. This system seems easy to set up and use. We would love to place some cameras in our den that is mostly windows.

I live in a lower level apt, and often feel vulnerable when I can’t see who is at the door. While my 9 lb dog sounds threatening, he’s not someone I can rely on. This seems like a great option as I rent. Thanks for the post.

I’d love to use one camera in my backyard near an alley where high schoolers have been hanging out to smoke and drink and leave trash. I’d also like one near my front door to check on packages, and one inside to watch my puppies while I’m gone during the day! These look easy and affordable, and attractive too.

That mama bear, protect my babies, high alert is a real thing! When we had my first son, video monitors were kind of a new and maybe over the top thing. When I finally caved in and spent the money on one, it took so much of the worry off of me! This is something I’m definitely going to look into,

I totally understand you on panicking when someone knocks on the door at night…or anytime for that matter. I’m always wondering, “who the heck is here?! Why would someone be at my house?!” My husband travels for work so this would be great peace of mind for me. 🙂

I had recently seen a new story about a girl who stayed home sick from school. The would-be thieves knocked on the door to see if anyone was home, and when she didn’t answer busted in the door. So of course when I heard a knock and saw a strange vehicle in my driveway I sensed impending doom for me and my child. After repeated loud knocking on the door, I responded by pounding loudly from the inside and yelling loudly, “Who’s there?!” Turns out it was the terminator coming for the appointment WE made with HIM to tell us if the bugs on the outside of our house were termites. (They weren’t.) 😂

Every single time my doorbell rings, I go instant panic mode. Sometimes I hide, sometimes I slink up the stairs to look out the window. It’s bad. I would feel so much better having an outdoor system to see who was out there, so I don’t leave my friends hanging out there for 5 minutes until I determine they are safe.

Oh this would mean the world to me! Our front door was largely wavy/clear glass so I’d feel trapped in a certain part of the house to not be seen if someone knocked on the door while I was home. We finally privacy treated it, but now I have no idea who is there. It’d be a game changer to have a video that I could view for safety before answering. I just transitioned to being a stay at home with a new baby and man, those crazy fears are REAL!

Love the discreet look! This might sound petty but I would love to have a recording of a women in our neighborhood who keeps neglecting to pick up after her dog in our yard – even after we specifically asked her if she would like a bag! We’d then be able to hand it into our HOA and she’d get fined – not a huge security issue but would still be helpful! I’d also like the inside cameras to see what my fur-baby does all day 🙂

Any time I have to describe “new mom fear” to anybody, I’m simply going to refer them to this post. It seriously made me tear up, because it’s just so accurate.

My husband and I bought in an up and coming neighborhood that we love several years ago, but with the uptick of people moving into the area, there has also been an uptick in break-ins. Of course this aligned with the birth of our daughter almost two years ago. Or maybe I just became INSANELY more aware of what was going on around me, but either way, the paranoia is real. My husband owns his own business, and I’m at home alone with her a lot of evenings. I find myself peeking out of the blinds more than is acceptable for a not 80 year old who sits around watching Fox News all day.

All this to say, I know deep down a video security system would do wonders in the way of my sanity. However, I’ve been caught in the cycle of researching, then worrying I’m not choosing the best security system, and then finally loading my cart up, but then talking myself down because “am I really this person? Do I really want to spend hundreds of dollars because I’m scared right now?” Anyway, it would be really nice to be given the peace of mind.

We are doing our first big home renovation as a married couple and we both work quite far from the home so won’t be able to be there to supervise the work. It would be GREAT to see what’s going on while we are away all day and can see the progress!

Packages are left on our porch on the regular – including Blue Apron and Green Blender – and we got home from a long weekend away on Sunday and the Fedex guy had piled 6 huge boxes right in front of our door next to newspapers clearly saying to the world “Not only can you steal these packages but come on in, NOBODY’S HOME”. Many, many people in our neighborhood have reported stolen packages and break-ins and I don’t know how we’ve been so lucky so far but I would like to keep it that way!

I’m a stay at home mom with three little kiddos and it would be impossible to run with or stay and protect all of them if someone came into my home. So I just NEVER answer my door! Seriously! Unless I am expecting someone I never answer the door when I am home alone with my girls. Just last night my husband and I were talking about something a little more than a peephole. Looks like this is what we need.

I’d love the outdoor camera to make the glass patio door to my condo unit more secure.

Years ago, when I was two weeks away from giving birth to my first child, I came home from work (my last day of work before leave!) to find my house burgled (and trashed) and all of my jewelry gone. It felt like such a violation and I felt so unsafe, waiting to give birth and then home alone all day with my infant. It took months to get over it. Mostly.

Thank you – we had mail theft recently and Amazon package theft, so I would use it to keep an eye on the front of the house. Also planning to get a dog, and it would be nice to know how he/she is doing during the day.

We recently moved to the ‘burbs after living in Baltimore city for 3 years. This would’ve been so useful there, as I was constantly on edge about break-ins after some neighbors experience them. Even so, sometimes I still have some anxiety and simply hearing a strange noise will send me into a state of alarm. A set of these would be great to ease those fears.

I would have still been in happy land if a frightening incident hadn’t happened two weeks ago when our 17 year old daughter was home alone while my husband and I were at the four other kids’ local rec soccer championship game. Our neighbors asked us if the sheriff came that morning. We immediately started texting our daughter to lock all doors as our neighbor explained that FOUR criminals were on the loose in our “neighborhood” – we live in the country with ten houses within a half mile. Apparently there had been a high speed chase beginning at 3:00 AM and ending with a car wreck a mile a way. They tracked the criminals with two canine units and marked and unmarked cars through corn and soybean fields, and they were now hiding on one of our properties. Holy Crap! We were trying to text our daughter where to hide and to grab the bear mace and to leave the dogs on the main floor to bark and to call 911 if she heard any glass break. She heard lots of yelling and sirens as one-by-one they were caught, with finally the last one being held at gunpoint by a concealed carry permitted guy who happened to be bow hunting in the nearby trees. All were 17-20 years of age trying to destroy their lives after multiple burglaries. I haven’t slept well since this all went down. They were all arrested between 200 and 600 yards of our home – and had they made it to our mini barn or property or to our home, I don’t think I would ever sleep well again. I need to broach the subject of an alarm system with my husband who is usually of the “everything will be fine” mentality. Thanks for the opportunity…to sleep well again!

Love seeing that security is getting more affordable. I’d use the Blink system inside to make sure the kids get home from school and to keep an eye on the dogs. As for the outside one, I’d be worried that someone would just come unscew it…

This is exactly what I need! I have a 14 month old and am due with our second in May. Those late night feedings and at home with the baby during the day with lots of traffic give me the creeps and it would be so nice to have a system in place for peace of mind!

What a great concept! I love how easy it is to set up. I don’t think we have the need for a full security system, but I love the idea of being able to see who’s at my front door before I run downstairs from the shower I was in the middle of (true story – and since it was a wallpaper delivery, the guy needed a signature!). I also would love to know what my dog is up to while we’re gone. I’m not if I’ll be pleased or depressed to find that all she does is sleep, but it’s preferable to pacing the floors, looking for us!

I absolutely love that this is something that works with batteries only. When someone tried to break into our house once it took us ages to get an electrician out to wire up the camera we wanted. I wanted a quicker fix but wasn’t happy with anything else on the market at the time. I wish we had had Blink then!

We just moved into a new house this summer and have been contemplating security, but didn’t want to too wild with a system. This Blink system sounds perfect for the front door and a couple other spots in the house!

Love this system. It would be a game changer! Our rental has a security camera outside that has clipped wires / isn’t plugged into anything. Our landlord thinks it gives a sense of security and wards off anyone who would consider breaking in, but it’s pretty obvious it isn’t functioning. 😂

I’m a renter, and this system would be great! I’m in “family protection” mode right now, putting together emergency kits, fire-proof lock-boxes, etc. to ensure that we remain safe and healthy in any type of emergency.

I have a baby and feel the SAME way! I especially get nervous when I have to stay home alone with him overnight when my husband travels for work. I love that Blink can be easily installed and placed anywhere throughout our home’s interior and exterior. A few of these would be really handy right now!

I am so paranoid since having kids! I would love to install this system at my house. I get so nervous thinking about what could happen… currently our “security system” is a baseball bat on my side of the bed… ha! scary!

Wow, just the other day I was thinking that it would be nice to have a security system that was built using “modern” technology so that you could access it anytime via your phone. I would use this in my apartment in NYC, especially as a new mom!

This post couldn’t have come at a better time! We just purchased and moved into our first home and have been researching camera systems. We don’t have an peep-hole in our wooden front door so I think it would be great asset to have to be able to see who’s at the door as well as for overall safety around our home. 🙂

Ugh this would be SO amazing as my husband works nights and weekends a few hours away and there have been times I locked myself in my bedroom because I’ve heard noises or gotten creeped out. And we don’t even have kids yet so I can’t imagine how I would feel trying to protect a squishy baby and not just me and my fur children. Home alarm systems seemed cost prohibitive and intense but I can definitely install two batteries and mount htis little guy by my back door. I think this was a great sponsor to partner with! Thanks for such a good idea on how to keep our homes and loved ones safe!

we have a camera outside overlooking our driveway. funny story, about 5 years ago we’re in alaska and we get an email from the camera showing us someone trying to enter our locked cars, in pa. so we call the local police at our home, from alaska, and send them the pics just to say nothing really happened here, but if someone actually had something stolen, it might be this girl. it was quite a shocker as we checked our email that morning before we headed out into the alaska wilderness!
b

Oh man! I need this in the worst way. Bought a home post-divorce in my dream neighborhood, a historic and lovely part of town. My home is 100 yrs old, so there are no outlets outside & wiring with knob & tube wiring on a limited budget is a no-go. After living here approx 2 months I realized, thanks to the NextDoor app, that this little ‘hood is fairly sketchy. Cars get broken into every.single.day. I had to hang my Wichita flag way up high so it wouldn’t get stolen, because, apparently this is a thing, a thing that is not reported in our town. If something happens 6 blocks away, it’s in the paper, but 50 break-ins in a month in my neighborhood alone and nothing. I might have re-considered my move had I known 🙁 I want my daughter and I to feel safe in our new neighborhood.

While I was reading this post there was a loud aggressive knock at the door. As usual, I jumped, panicked, then went to peak out the front window. As usual, Amazon.
I love all these comments! It’s nice to know I’m not alone 🙂

P.S. Emily, you are one of the only blogs who do sponsored posts well. I actually enjoy them because you are such a good writer and storyteller. Thanks for providing great content every single day!

I’ve been wanting to order this for a while. My front entry has no window to see out. Last night I was terrified to hear my doorbell ring.. I asked “who is it”… no answer.. “who is it”.. finally I opened the door.. it was just a boy scout going door to door. Whew!

I’d be interested in using one for my front door, as it’s a solid door and I can’t see who’s knocking. Like, are you selling girl scout cookies or are you actually here to kill us all? Would be good to know before opening!

This would be great. Unfortunately my home was burglarized while I was away at work. The cops took almost an hour to show up. I was waiting outside in the cold without a warm enough jacket because I had no way of knowing if someone was still inside. With this camera I would have known whether or not they were still in my home. Because of this experience, I would put the camera outside in a very visible spot, so people know they are on camera.

Just a friendly reminder that because there are many women who serve in the same capacity, it’s always better to say firefighter(s), rather than firemen. Same goes for police officers, rather than policemen, and so on…:)

It’s important to carefully consider the effect of using a “nannycam” or other means of spying on people who work for you. Even if it is legal, the loss of autonomy can be demoralizing. Setting aside any micromanaging you might be tempted to do if you were watching all the time… just think what it would be like if your clients insisted on having a camera trained on you and a keystroke-logger installed on your computer while you worked for them. It robs the relationship of trust.

I’m not saying you should automatically trust everyone. But if you have hired them and put your trust in them, and they have not betrayed that trust, it is a pretty serious and cynical decision to constantly survey their work.

Also, “smart home” products can get hacked. Not trying to harsh your buzz, your sponsored posts are always fine by me, but important stuff to consider.

Nora sometimes you just hire a Nanny you don’t know because your last one suddenly left you and you need to work, its not that you trust her, its just that you had no other choice…I don’t feel its the same if my boss spies on me because ultimately the worst I could do is be on FB instead of working on my PC ( its not ok, but I qouldn’t be killing anybody). The nanny has to look after the most precious thing I have, my baby, his life…the worst she could do is hurt him or kill him, so I really think nanny cams are justified. I’d love to have Blink for that purpose.

emily… your sponsored posts lately have been killing it. between the frame tv and this blink camera situation, i am IN and my husband is probably wishing i didnt read your blog and would just stop spending money 🙂

I would use this inside and outside of our house! Currently we do not have any monitoring system and last week I watched a tall man walk into my neighbors yard at 6:15am (i have a toddler) and look into their window! And then casually walk down the street. I am also on the ‘Nextdoor” app which is both good for knowing what’s going on in your vicinity and bad for the exact same reason! 🙂 We have talked about getting something, but the whole idea of wires and monthly contracts has made us procrastinate. Thank you for telling your readers about this!!

This is an interesting product and good for folks that do not want full-blown security system. But…that said, I SO MISS your posts about renovating homes. Not interested in Halloween decorations, but would really like to see more of the home design/decor posts that you did so much of in the past!!

I would definitely use this at my front and back door! I have the Nextdoor app, which along with giving me good information about things happening in my neighborhood, has me totally paranoid about suspicious cars and (very) occasional nearby break-ins.
My best 911 story was reporting an assault that I witnessed through the window of my old apartment. I called 911, and they put me on hold! I waited several minutes before talking to someone, and by the time I was able to report it, the person had run off. In the meantime I had yelled, “STOP! I’m calling the police”, out my window. I suppose this could have prevented the assailant from being charged, at the time I was only thinking of getting him to stop.

I am raising my two young granddaughters alone and we live in a neighborhood that has seen better times. There are moments when knowing what’s going on downstairs when I’m upstairs or who’s outside when the curtains are drawn would be such a relief.

We just moved and FB chatter in our neighborhood has got me on edge. One night after being here for a few weeks I heard a noise around 5am and made my husband go check to see what it was, as I was sure someone was breaking into our house. He got up checked it out and found our 4-year-old in his bed with the lights on obsessively playing with a newly gifted Transformer toy. Oh brother! I could really use this to help my feel safe and sound in our new home and new neighborhood.

Great article. I have been researching security systems for when my house is finished. It’s out in the rural country and I work long hours. It’ll be refreshing to know my wife and 2 year old will be safe.

This would have been great to have when they were looking for the Boston marathon bomber. As most people know, our city was in a lock-down and I was debating ways to leave our condo and/or defend ourselves with an infant.

And on a lighter note…yes, it would also be helpful for packages and unexpected door bells. 🙂 Thanks for the introduction to this company and concept.

Wow. So surreal. My wife experience a very similar issue when my daughter was only a few months old. I was working late. Someone was knocking on our front door late at night. Unfortunately it was not the FedEx guy. This person keep knocking and would not response. My wife couldn’tsee who was in the front door through the window and immediately knew something was wrong. He kept knocking so hard my neighbor heard the knocking and to our luck he sense something was not right. Fortunately my neighbor is a cop. He jump into action and ended apprending him. As soon as he did a few police cars showed up immediately. A few neighbors called the cops earlier after seeing him peeking into home windows. This young person excuse was he was selling his cd’s. Yet no music cd’s was on him. Just a clip board and a pen. They let him go as he did not committed a crime. Well my neighbor tells me he ran is name the next day and find out this kid had over 15 arrests for breaking and entering. Wow.. Reality hit hard. That was a wake up. So many scenario’s went through my mind on how bad this could of been for my family. I still cringe thinking about it. Soon after, I installed two hard wire video cameras in my home and there are now having issues. I think the wires are going bad. I am grateful my family was not harmed. Well reading your story and about Blink. Just makes sense to take a look at this wonderful technology. So Thank you so much for sharing.

No need to feel bad about your 911 call! I did that several times while my husband was out of town, with two babes sleeping upstairs. I once even yelled out our window in my ‘meanest’ voice when teenagers were trying to jump our fence. Later to find out our neighbor heard me and said that my tone wouldn’t have scared a puppy, and it made her laugh out loud. How wonderfully embarrassing. But hey, I will do anything for my kids. I would most definitely use cameras in the front, side and back of our house, along with sensors on the majority of our main floor windows. Major piece of mind with a traveling husband and two small children.

Yes! I have definitely walked through the house with a pair of scissors (for trimming bangs…) thanks to an Amazon delivery… of diapers…

We own a duplex (live in one side and rent out the other) and our renters were burglarized when I was 37 weeks pregnant. The police said that only two things deter break ins: 1. Dogs and 2. Cameras. Our renters got a Great Dane. I’ll take Blink. 😉

I live in one-level glass house. OK, there are walls, but the entire perimeter of the house has windows that run along the ceiling and 4 of the rooms have floor to ceiling windows. I’ve never felt unsafe in a home before and it is SUCH a cool house, but yeah. We are renovating as we save money to do so, and I thought a security system would cost a fortune.

We aren’t able to see who is at the door due to the layout of the house. I’d love to have a camera for that, as well as to check on my cat Marty once a day. Thanks for sharing, been a fan since DesignStar days.

Emily, thank you so much for this post!! I would love to see more posts like this, including recommendations for home security system services with alarms for the doors and windows.

Our neighborhood has had 3 break-ins lately (including one home invasion when it was daylight and the family was home!?), so I would totally put this to use: front door, back deck, and back yard. And I think I’d order an extra to spy on my puppy while I’m away, I always worry that she’s ok and not getting into mischief!

Would love to use in our century home. Always hesitate to hardwire or make changes to our historic home. We have a new baby and I also called 911 on a doorbell ringer who showed up once per week over the span of 3 weeks (turned out to be a gas lady with poor identification)! It was nice to know others have similar thresholds for 911 and fears after having a newborn!

Totally unrelated to home security, but when my (now four year old) daughter was 4 months she stuck her finger in her eye.. and I mean STUCK. It’s like she defied some unspoken law of psychics before she knew what psychics were. I picked her up, both of us screaming, and ran down the stairs, out the house, and INTO THE STREET. As though there were a doctor waiting out there to extract fingers from eyeballs.

My daughter pulled the finger out. She was totally fine. I laughed like a crazy person. 😉

We’d love to have this system. We are in a rural area and I’d feel safer if I could monitor who comes to our door! I’d also give me an insight as to which dog is getting into mischief inside the house! Love your 911 story! We’ve all been there.

I shop online and have packages and always freak out when someone I don’t know comes to the door. I would love a camera to be sure what is coming to my door. I have two children and their safety is my priority especially with all the bad in the world.

it’s funny how we have to talk ourselves into calling the police or 911. the few times i have had to i also had to use the “it’s your right! you pay taxes! you’re allowed to be an inconvenience” rationale 😂

I’ve got a 3 & 2-year-old & one on the way, so this kind of product is totally something I would love to have! Setting one up outside our apartment would be so nice because people can see through our security gate & it would be so much nicer to not have to open the door to see who’s there. I get paranoid anytime my husband isn’t home in the evenings. We’ve got a couple shady characters that live in the apartments in the building next to ours, so it would be so nice when my husband isn’t home to have that peace of mind. Thank you for sharing! I’d never heard of Blink prior to your post.

I would position one camera outside and one inside, both to see the front door, as there is no way to see the front door without being seen. We have several children and a traveling spouse. I’d love the gift of Blink security!

Right there with you! Formerly invincible and fearless. We just moved into a new house in Hawaii at the perfect elevation where no AC is required but all windows on the upstairs floor are open. We have two boys 5 and 9 and one brand new baby girl. My husband has been out of town on two short trips since we have moved in which led Me to discovered I have sonar hearing. Every little noise I am up to investigate and checking on the kids. We have already discussed a home security system and Blink would be perfect! We did not plan for outdoor plugs for plug in style (nest) and an extensive every window/every door system is to much. Love the clean modern design and no hard wiring required! Thank you for sharing.

Oh man, I am the opposite. I have always been (irrationally) afraid of break-ins or muggings. When I was a kid, I’d watch my brother in the summers while my parents worked and I once made him flee to a nearby park (within reach of our cordless landline phone which I was using to call our mother) because I was terrified of a guy in the backyard who turned out to be the meter reader. Having a baby has somehow made me feel more secure, but I still worry about all the things that can happen. I’d love this set to monitor outside our house and also monitor my husband when he’s home by himself with the baby 😉

This sounds like a great, easy and affordable system. I have a new baby myself (3.5months old) and I’ve always been anxious about answering the door because I usually know when people are coming over so an unexpected knock has always had me on edge, but even more so now with a little one. I would use the system to ease this anxiety.

We live on a very busy corner. And our currently building an inlaw apartment for my mother. So we have an additional point of entry. We would use three for outdoor and three for indoor. Thank you for sharing the “what makes me feel normal” feelings!

I’d definitely use this – we live on a busier street with a lot of foot traffic on the sidewalks in front and side of our house, so I’d like to make sure the traffic stays on the sidewalks, and not up close and personal near our windows or god forbid, doors.

I have been looking for an option like this, with no monthly service or pay to play cloud service. Do you know how long it stores videos? Some options are only real time, while others hold the video for 24 hours in case there was an incident.

People just need to stop knocking on the door, period. It starts at least 5 minutes of chaos, fear, frustration and barking (we have a 7lb chiweenie, aka, a “barking cat”)
I would use this camera at my front door to avoid Girl Scouts and my back patio to watch the raccoons eat the trash I was too lazy to take to the bins.

I live in a college town – with several houses full of college students on my block. For the most part, they’re fairly quiet, bring anything inside by 10pm, and we haven’t had an issue. However, there have been a few occurrences where we have come out in the morning to find a car blocking our stairs to the street, or someone sitting (even caught them sleeping one morning!) in their car. Times like these make me want to invest in a more robust security system – these cameras would definitely be a nice addition!

We have a system for indoors, but I’d LOVE a Blink system for outside! We’ve recently had some package thieves in our neighborhood. I can’t understand what they want with my sunscreen and gluten-free baking mix from Amazon, but apparently they do. As for new-parent fear stories…cut to the first day I’m home alone with my two-week-old son. He’s sleeping peacefully, and I see, right underneath his cradle, a GIANT LIZARD. We live in LA, lizards get in the house sometimes, but I swear this one seemed like it was the size of an iguana, and RIGHT UNDER MY BABY. Dog was no help. I snatched up my son, who of course woke up and started wailing, and I had to shush and bounce him while moving furniture and boxes and all sorts of things to make a barricade around the lizard until my husband got home. Normally I would have scooped up the thing and put it back outside, but my sleep-deprived fear brain just exploded and this was all I could think of to do. It makes me laugh now…but then? Nope.

I would looove this. My kids rooms are upstairs and sometimes it hard to hear them at night when we are all asleep. I would love to have one in my boys room and then I’d probably put one at my front door. We get packages all the time and it’s nice to see who is there before I answer the door.

We have a Halloween decoration a black spider with orange and black legs and it moves throughout the house and the baby was suggesting security cameras inside the house so we can find out how the spider moves from one area of the house to another I could not agree with this baby more he’s four years old and he’s a genius 😳

I would love to have this for our new downtown house. We have a lot of random foot traffic, so I would use this at my front door and side gate that does not have a lock since these areas are susceptible to theft. I would also love to monitor my doggies while at home alone.

The timing in finding your post and seeing a simple way for monitoring your home was a “have to read”! Having just encountered photo’s on our neighborhood Facebook page of my front porch showing a Bobcat sniffing around on it had me discussing the need of a camera with my husband. If I won the Blink security system I would mount it on my front porch to check the surroundings before exiting the house.

Whatever you do don’t watch the movie The Strangers then.
Anyway, aside from the obvious security issues. I need one of these for my back gate since I have nasty people that put old furniture trash in front of my garage and I would like to know who the culprits are!

I just bought my first home and have been researching security options. Some alarm systems are terribly expensive and/or require lots of hardwiring. Blink seems like a great option to just keep an eye on things. Thank you!

I come from one of the most dangerous cities in the world and It is hard to trust my surroundings. I moved to the U.S. for my PhD and everything was great until I had a bad experience with a neighbor. He was offensive and creepy. I’m most of the time by myself and would like to know who is walking around outside, and If there is something weird to be worried about.

I have to say that this whole drone phenomena is weirding me out. There were several times this summer that I was outside playing with the kids and a drone hovered over our yard. Why in the world would they possibly need to hover over our yard!?! I just scares me that I have no control over what types of images they take and what they do with them. All that to say I’m paranoid and any extra security we could add around our house would definitely help me sleep easier at night.

So maybe this is weird, but I was thinking this would be a great system for baby monitoring with #2 on the way. We use the nest cam now but it is so expensive to add cameras.
And I like the idea that when we’re done with baby monitoring, we can watch stuff in another part of the house.

We live in an inner city neighborhood and while I love the history and diversity we have issues with packages stolen off our doorstep and I sometimes get nervous when I’m home alone at night and hear noises out front (which usually turns out to be passersby enjoying their lives, ha). But it would be nice to be able to see for myself more easily!

This is a great little product! I’m definitely going to get one or two for myself for Christmas 🙂 We have these crazy little birds that fly into our windows and I often mistake it for a knock at the door.

I am home during the day with my kids and most home robberies in our neighborhood take place during the day (when they assume people are at work). If someone knocks on the door during they day (solicitors, usually), I don’t answer (out of fear that someone will push their way in?!). Though now that I think about it, I probably should so they know that I am home????? Eeek. Maybe a visible camera outside would a) Make me feel better and b). deter the bad people?

I would love this for my front porch! I live on a high foot traffic street in a college town, which I mostly love, but we’ve had a few minor incidents, like a large concrete planter being knocked over. A little extra sense of security goes a long way!

Emily–what a timely post! Our home was broken into yesterday while we were at work (our puppy was in his kennel and he was FREAKED when I got home). We think it was just kids or potentially a homeless person as the only things stolen were clothes, and some loose cash we had sitting on our bureau, but it’s a horrible feeling to have your home/safe space feel violated, and know that someone went through all your things.

My husband and I are looking into home security options now, as we don’t want to have to worry about anything like this ever happening again-100% understand your want/need for monitoring your home.

As someone who was recently a victim of an attempted burglary most burglaries happen during the middle of the day when the burglar assumes no one is home and you’re at work I was home for lunch when a burglar attempted to break in. I didn’t answer my doorbell because I wasn’t expecting anyone. Since he assumed I wasn’t home he went around to our backyard and attempted to kick in our French doors. I was able to get out of the house to safety and the police caught him. The police told me that if someone rings your doorbell and you don’t know who it is to tell the person you are not expecting anyone and you are not opening your door. If they don’t leave tell them you will call the police. Do not pretend you are not home.

This is my very first visit to your Blog and I am now a Follower! Thank you for the informative and entertaining feature on this amazing product, BLINK! Though I would LOVE to WIN this system for our family of four, (2 children pets), due to a recent surge in burglaries in our neighborhood, the more important need at this time is for my elderly mother. An aging parent can be heartbreaking and stressful. BLINK is a definite solution to the many challenges I am facing with my Mom’s well being and safety. My Mom an I read your post together and she LOVED you and Blink too! I guess the apple does not fall far from the tree?!

A few years ago we moved into a new house in a new neighborhood and adopted a new dog. The cops were always looking for the people who lived in the house before us and had stopped by a few times. One night I was home alone and the doorbell rang at 9:45. I was terrified and convinced it was someone there to murder me (or take their house back!) On top of being startled by the doorbell, the new dog decided to pee on the carpet, necessitating the fact that I HAD to take her out, and HAD to go out the front since that was the only outdoor light we had and I wasn’t about to get murdered! Having that outdoor camera would have saved me about 20,000 extra heartbeats and frantic phone calls!

This is definitely something I have been researching but was conflicted on what product to purchase. I was going to get a nest product but this one seems like the best option. Thank you for posting this!

We were victims of a home invasion a few years back. If we would’ve had a system like this, I’m sure we would have seen him skulking around the house BEFORE he got in! Thanks to you and Blink for this wonderful giveaway.

Too bad we need to lead with a reference to that scary east Harlem black neighborhood you helped gentrify when you were 23. You have black readers from Harlem, they used to be your neighbors when you helped launch the gentrification of their neighborhood. Return the favor or just leave it alone. Very insensitive decision.

Few months ago I bought one Blink XT just to test it and to see how it works. I ❤️ it,wireless,cordless exactly what I need. Now I’m looking to expand my system and cover back door and garage area.
System works great and is easy to install. You also have to be aware that this is not a security system (no automated call to 911 etc…Blink is more a “monitoring” system that will notify you if there is a movement. So, before you buy it, think twice what do you want to accomplish with having a camera. If your goal is just to monitor your home, then Blink is perfect and affordable system to go with.

I so need this. We just moved into a home where our garage is in the back of the house. Our neighborhood has back alley access to every home. While in the house, we have no visual access to our back door/garage area. Having blink back there would help to put my mind/heart at ease.

This is amazing! I cannot see my backyard from inside unless I stand very awkwardly between our workbench and ski storage, and even then I can’t see the swing set. I have been wanting something to help me keep an eye on my preschool age children while I cook or go to the bathroom or stay inside for any reason at all. Last winter we found evidence that some moose has been living in our backyard for at least a couple days, and we never knew it.

I don’t like making fear-based decisions either, but motherhood has taught me that some of this is visceral and can’t be turned off. I never knew and have since apologized to my mom for thinking she just need to calm down more.

I installed a Blink XT cam outside my apartment’s back door (that opens onto the street) a few months ago. It has some shortcomings compared to a wired security camera but overall I like it.

BTW what’s so wrong with East Harlem?

Comments are closed.

Hello!

Emily is a stylist, author and T.V. host with a strong commitment to vintage inspired approachable home style for every single person. Perfection is boring; Let’s get weird. learn more

Interior Design Blog by Youxi988

I started this interior design blog in 2010 as a journal of my style and home projects with the belief that design should be approachable, informational and accessible no matter what budget.

As a home style expert who has a strong commitment to peeling back the intimidating layers of the world of home decor, and showing how every person can have a beautiful home that represents their personality, no matter what the budget.

After styling for magazines and catalogues for years, I started my own interior design blog, won HGTV Design Star, and have gone on to host my own hit TV show Secrets from a Stylist, Author the book STYLED, and create the design firm Youxi988 Design.

My motto has always been to write and publish on my blog what I personally want to read about.